© Made in DNA

Hardboiled Haiku

2007-01-05T23:32:00.000-08:00

Read My Writing at WritersCafe.org
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Auditioning Serious Illustrator for Manga/Comic (pls read below)

2006-12-27T02:44:00.000-08:00

Auditioning Serious Illustrator for Manga/Comic (pls read below)
Originally uploaded by Made in DNA.

I am currently seeking an illustrator to work on a comic/manga project that my current illustrator has to take leave from. Am not looking for artists to copy the current work, but rather, take the (finished) script, and the current designs/work, and begin fresh, giving the manga a new life. Interested parties should contact me via site mail. I will ask for samples of ORIGINAL artwork (no fan fic work please) and give a contact address. I am open to questions, and I will be fully open about the project. Strong English language skills a must, though applicants need not be native speakers. Thanks so much for your time and interest. Happy holidays to those of you who celebrate them. Made in DNA

Short SF Story -- Critiques Needed Before Dec 30th

2006-12-25T03:54:00.000-08:00

If you have the time, I would appreciate an honest critique (however long or short) of this story. Anonymous reviews ok.
Happy holidays,
Made in DNA

Deep Autumn Remembrance (Mature Content)
A Story by Made In Dna
Kiyoka, a Maiko in Kyoto's Gion District, is about to meet the man who holds the key to initiating her into the world of Geisha.

Hara Kiri Manga/Comic

2006-12-18T17:15:00.000-08:00

Hara Kiri (Alternate 02) Dressed for Success
Originally uploaded by Made in DNA.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it my proud duty to announce to you that a second manga/comic is going into production next year (early 2007): HARA KIRI (tentative title). Scripted by myself and illustrated by the fantastic "Z Fura" (more on him later).

A manga set in a future, alternate reality Japan (Greater Nippon) where the Shogun and the Emperor rule two separate, yet friendly, states (similar to two Koreas). The heroine is Hara Kiri, a young bounty hunter, whose job it is to track the criminal elements of New Edo.

A combo of samurai chambara (sword play) and high-tech. No release date is set yet.

For those of you wondering what happened to ZIPPER... I wish I could say more. It seems to be in a limbo state. Frankly, I feel I am going to have to make some very hard decisions about it. I AM NOT cancelling this project!!! NO NO NO NO. I will not allow this to happen. Zipper is something I have spent the good part of more than a year on now, including writing the script and coaching the illustrator. So, I *REFUSE* to give up on it.

Published @ Lulu

2006-10-14T05:22:00.000-07:00

I have published two works; a comic/script combo about a body-for-hire (ZIPPER: BOUNTY) and a short story collection featuring news stories from the future (NOT NECESSARILY THE FUTURE). Both of them may be purchased at Lulu.com. At $1.00 and $2.00 respectably, they are priced to go! PayPal accepted, immediate download!

http://www.lulu.com/dnafiction

Not Necessarily the Future
Not Necessarily the Future is a collection of five humorous short stories featuring news from the future. Tune into the future of news: from A.I. robots to zombies. Also features 4 superb illustrations from horror comic author/illustrators Jerem Morrow.

Zipper: Bounty
Zipper is an "AnyBody" -- more specifically a body for hire -- who, together with her A.I. dragonfly companion, will take on any job for any one. Set 700 years into the future where humans have excelled at the sciences, taking them to the stars as well as allowing them to manipulate their world in a variety of mediums. This is an original short 6-page comic in rough ink, and the working script from which it was illustrated.

Natsume Soseki's Nose Hair

2006-07-12T19:12:00.000-07:00

Apparently, whenever renowned Japanese writer Natsume Soseki (I Am A Cat, Botchan, Kokoro, etc) had writer's block, he would sit at his writing desk and pluck his nose hairs which he would then stick to the drafts he was writing. An apprentice discovered this and wrote it up in his memoirs. However, all evidence was apparently destroyed in the Pacific War (the war with the U.S. as it was called in Japan).

[File under: Extremely Useless Trivia]
[Source: Trivia No Izumi -- Episode Run: July 12, 2006]

Lulu POD Self-Publishing

2006-06-05T15:09:00.000-07:00

Over the last year or so, I have been working with a close friend from college, on getting as much detail about the POD business as possible before I launch my own book. In the printing business himeself, he goes to a ton of conferences and late last year he said he met a gentleman who spoke about Lulu. He said that Lulu sounded like a truly great deal for anyone who was looking into POD self-publishing. Not only did they not ask for any money up front, but they allow authors to go the whole nine-yards by customizing their publications (publications that include books, CDs, DVDs, images and calendars).

I have been slowly checking Lulu out (got myself a free account), and what I have seen so far, I really like. Here's Lulu's 'slogan' (right on the front page): "No set-up fees. No minimum order. No catch. We print and ship each product as it's bought, and the purchaser pays for it." Sounds almost too good to be true, because on top of that, there is a wide selection of books styles/sizes and two kinds of sales mediums possible -- traditional print and electronic downloads -- for reaching a wider audience.

So as to get the best feel for it, I decided to hook myself up as a customer first. Logging in to my account, I went hunting for a cyberpunk themed book, something I would personally enjoy reading. (A quick note: for all you cyberpunk writers out there, there are very few CP themed books online at Lulu right now, good chance to break in and get a foothold.) I latched on to a book called SHANGHAI DREAMS by Johnny Sahr, and decided to go for an electronic download.

Dear readers, this is what I call 'the moment of truth': I have no credit card, not one!, never have. I'm damn proud of that. Some would call me foolish, and perhaps they are right, as there certainly have been times when I could have used one... yeah, used one to put myself in so much debt, I could never get out! Instead, I use PayPal -- a great method of payment in my opinion. But sometimes purchasing online with it can be a real hassle, despite the fact that PayPal is quite established. (It boogles the mind really.) To me, the true test of an online store's mettle is whether or not they accept PayPal (or one of the other e-money places). Seriously, how can you call yourself a true online store and NOT accept?

Holding my breath, I clicked the NON-credit card payment section, and LOW AND BEHOLD, PayPal popped up. SWEET! Score. Within the next minute, the book (in PDF format) downloaded, and Lulu had instilled in me great confidence that my future books could easily be purchased by anyone, even people without a credit card. Of course, the real challenge is yet to come (ie putting my own book together), but Lulu has a very self-explanitory site, with tons of FAQ and commonsense topics set right at the fingertips of would-be authors. Granted, with all the information that there is, it can seem a little overwhelming, but with carefully guided mouse, 90% of all information sought, can be figured out easily. And when all else fails, there is live help available.

For now, I'm giving Lulu two-thumbs up, while I continue my publishing journey. In the meantime, I encourage others to comment about their own experiences with Lulu -- good or bad. I want a broad a view as I can get. I'm pumping it now, but there may very well be something I'm missing. I wouldn't like to be blind-sided if I can help it.

Until later,
Made in DNA

Overwrite -- Short SF Story (Free)

2006-06-03T05:35:00.000-07:00

A recent submission made to an anthology about "glorifying terrorism" was rejected. Can't say I blame the editor who explained she felt the story was "cliche'".

After a month of working on it, I felt it was forced, and didn't feel comfortable with it. It doesn't feel like the best work I have done. The point is though, I gave it my best shot, and now I know much more about myself than I did before: I feel more comfortable writing on subjects I myself enjoy than something someone else is looking for.

While certainly disappointed in not making the cut, I'm happy that I am free to work on the work I would really rather produce. And though it may sound as if I don't have that much confidence in the piece itself, I think it has something. Or rather it's on the verge of something. Thus I have decided that I would like to share it with everyone pro bono.

Please feel free to download it, and also feel free to critique it in the comments section.

So that you are not completely in the dark as to what it is about; it is a short SF piece (6 pages in PDF format) featuring an artificial intelligence as the protagonist.

OVERWRITE (90K PDF)

Beeline for the Deadline

2006-04-13T01:32:00.000-07:00

It's been a heck of a month, and the rest of the month promises to be so too. First of all I moved at the end of last month. I now live with my wife and her parents in a large two-storey house in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. Thank god for that. Along with saving half my rent and all my utilities, I now make $700 more a month at a new day-job. It's the equivalent of making something like $950 more a month. Holy sheep dip Batman, can you say, step-up on the school loan paybacks? I knew you could.

I may be all moved in, but I am nowhere near the finish line at the moment as I am hurtling toward, not one, but two deadlines in May. The first, due on May 1st, is a short story for an anthology "gloryifying terrorism". Apparently the UK is passing law that makes such publications illegal, so the editor is paying 200 GBP per story. It's a tough subject to approach, but I just kept in mind that America's own independance started with terrorism. Albeit nothing on the level of suicide bombers or September 11, but acts of subversion and chaos-creation are still effective tools. I am preparing a short story along these lines.

The next deadline after that is May 15: Bottle Rocket Magazine -- a comic/fiction anthology. I have two projects I'm doing for that. The first, which I have already submitted, is a short old-skool cyberpunk fiction story with illustrations by a friend (Shi), and the second is a 6-page mini comic featuring Zipper (see the right-hand links section) in a second, all-original story. That means TWO Zipper comics this year where only one was originally planned. I'm happy.

Enough gum-flappin', back to work. More details on where to purchase at a later date.

Trademark Bill Puts Writers/Journalists At Risk

2006-02-22T19:07:00.000-08:00

A new bill has already passed the House and is on its way to the Senate, will introduce a weakening of writers' Fair Use rights: read this article at The Writer's Blog.

A scary thought considering how much we writers depend on those fair use rights. How much longer before people can't even speak certain words out of context without fear of retrobution? How would you like to only be able to use the word "Coca-Cola" while within a certain vacinity of the actual product? Or even worse, while within a certain vacinity WITH an aim to actually purchasing it? Or never be able to say "I like Coke, but not Pepsi" to a friend during a friendly conversation while walking down the street?

An exaggeration perhaps, but makes you think quite about about our freedoms, and how easily they could be taken away.

Also read more here: The Author's Guild Advice and Plea

Publishing in Japan

2006-01-30T19:20:00.000-08:00

I found this list of references to English-language publishing in Japan. I happened upon it accidentally, but it's a resource I have been wondering about for years. Finally, a very comprehensive list, courtesy of The Foreigner - Japan:

The Foreigner - Japan: Publishing Links

52 Pages / 13000+ Words

2006-01-27T21:21:00.000-08:00

After a recent editing session, I decided to take measure on the progress of the short novel (working title: Weird Wired) that I am hoping to release later this year, probably via a POD venue.

52 pages (*1), is not exactly awe-inspiring, but it's more than I expected I had. There is still too much more work to be done. But it's nice feeling to know I have put more significant work behind it than I expected I had.

As a mob of other shorter stories will be accompanying the short novel to create an anthology, I believe this brings the total size of the book to a good 170 pages. Not bad at all. If I have my wish, there will be 250 pages, and possibly illustrations from good friend and artist gattican (CAUTION: Mad man at play!).

[1 -- the standard U.S. paperback novel at 250 words per page being the measure.]

BIZURAI -- The Last Empress

2006-01-11T22:56:00.000-08:00

>SHORT OUTTAKE FROM MY LASTEST WORK (RAW)<

=*=
"Your wiring seems to climb up your spine and connect directly to your brain. I can splice in at the base of your skull. It is likely there will be some discomfort though."

"There is no other way?"

"Not unless you know of one."

Murata frowned. He didn't like the thought of the foreigner's wiring in his body, but he had to know what was on the unit that would bring the Emperor's men down to slaughter defenseless monks and shrine maidens. The very idea of it was senseless and maddening. He owed it to the old monk, if nothing else, to understand why he and his had to die for Murata's sins. "Do it," purpose filled his voice.

The strange woman-warrior sat, between him and the slaughtered miko extending an arm toward each of them. Thin, black wires, fluidly flowed from the tips of her fingers and crawled up his shoulder around to the back of his neck. An involuntary shiver ran down his spine. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, to calm himself. There was a grouping of small pricks and an unnatural feeling of something worming its way under his skin as the armor entered his body. A recognizable feeling of connection to the Miko Net washed over him, but his virtual vision remained blank. Then a cold, dark, polyhedral form the color of brushed steel towered over him menacingly, a glowing sphere fazed in beside him, and a voice spoke.

"We are inside the the miko maiden now, on the outskirts of her memory core. It was protected from the attack. She obviously cannot offer it up to us herself, but I can access it using the armor's programming engines."

There was a blur, and an undeniable force pulled him through the outer edge of the miko's memory core. Soft, glittering geodesic shapes of varying sizes, shapes and colors surrounded them. The voice spoke again. "There is a history of sites you visited, several small files that search engines brought back, and one mammoth file that is taking up quite a bit of her memory. It looks like it was so big that some of it had to be stored in virtual memory. You can see there where it fades as it tries to merge with the walls of the memory core. Shared information remnants. That portion was destroyed of course, but it looks as if the file itself is still readable. If you are ready, I will activate the file and channel it to you directly."

"Yes."

© 2006, Made in DNA

Fiction/Writing Blogs

2006-01-11T17:26:00.000-08:00

An excellent blog on fiction writing generated mostly by reader-posed questions. As I am impressed by the straight-forward information and advice given to readers by the author, I thought I would share.

Writing Fiction:
Discussion on writing and publishing novels and short fiction

==

Also, I have started a writing resource/fiction writers' link in the side panel. Check it out.

Holiday Editing

2006-01-09T23:09:00.000-08:00

My initial plans for the two weeks of vacation I had during the year-end holidays was editing, editing, and more editing. I have several stories on the verge of being finished and several more just needing an good polishing to bring them around into publishing form.

Naturally the holiday season, with its promise of tons of downtime to be spent alone hacking away at my keyboard was quite the breath of fresh air. Usually I do most of my writing during my breaks at work or (on rare occasion) at home. (Home is a bad place for me to write as there are far too many distractions.)

Unfortunately, personal tragedy struck not once, but twice on the same day, bringing two passings of family members. To say it was a rough, stressful, emotion-ridden end of the year is an understatment. It didn't put me much in the mood for writing the rest of my vacation time, as I was more inclined to spend the rest of my time with my wife.

Today, thankfully, work offered a break from regular duties, and I was able to work some magic. So the book project I am planning to launch this year is still on schedule. If anything, I owe it to those who passed on NOT to punk out and let anything stand in the way of dreams.

LiveJournal Syndication Feed

2005-12-14T16:08:00.000-08:00

For all you LiveJournal usere out there, an rss feed has been created for this journal so that you can read updates to this journal in your LJ friends section. Go to the RSS Feeds section on the right-hand side of the journal and click "LiveJournal RSS Feed". (Thanks ZenMondo.)

Enjoy!

Genres

2005-12-06T20:10:00.000-08:00

I have held a deep fascination with the cyberpunk genre since I read my first William Gibson book back in the mid-90s. Until that time, I really loved reading, but had no idea what I liked. I read science fiction in general, especially the "classics" by Clarke, Anderson, etc, still I felt there was something lacking. Reading is a pleasure I usually commit myself just before I sleep. I'm not an insomniac but there's something about being escorted into dreamland by riveting fiction. When I discovered cyberpunk, I felt a whole new world had opened up.

Luckily, I have been blessed during my searches for cyberpunk to find excellent (through friends and on my own) the work of master authors like David Drake (superb military science fiction), S.M. Sterling (alternate history science fiction/fiction), Simon R. Green (a master of space opera), and a cadre of others whose words I cannot devour enough of.

It should also be noted that I have found a fascinating and powerful pull to the more non-mainstream Japanese film directors such as Tsukamoto, Miike, and their ilk. While they are not hardcopy writers, they often write their own screenplays. The resulting stories snake off the screen into my head, writhe there like the annoyingly driven animals they are, calling out for recognition. Bizarre image concoctions of human horrorpunk-slash-environmentalpunk eat away at me, making for endless hours of enjoyment long after the movie ends.

So it is that I have aligned my own writing style with these genres, often alternating between them. Sticking with just one style would never do. I wouldn't dare say I'm out to create a new genre in any way, but I would like to be thought of as original in execution.

Therefore if you enjoy any of the above styles/genres mentioned, a mix thereof, or similar styles, give my previews a look over; I'm confident you'll find something you'll enjoy.

RAW (unedited) Preview of New Fiction Opening: BIZURAI

2005-12-06T20:06:00.000-08:00

WEIRD WIRED: BIZURAI
©2005-2006 Made in DNA

By the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the children of Japan destroyed much of their cultural heritage left in their care by poets and samurai, by working it all over via a concoction of lackluster insanity-gray concrete that consumed the grasslands; sky-piercing power towers that marched across mountain ranges; and bulldozing houses hundreds of years old in favor of neon massage parlors.

In the mid-22nd, the children of the children of the children realized the horror of it all. And decided to thank their grandbenefactors for those mistakes by gathering the ashes of all those who came before them, and using it as the base for a bio-nanobot resurrection agent, which they in turn poured over the nation in a bid to beat the living shit out of Father Time and resurrect Culture.

It was if the goddess Amaterasu, who gave birth to the Japanese Archipelago from her glorious womb, had stepped out of the collective Japanese consciousness, and pissed her love over the nation. The resulting infestation coated everything in a living, writhing testament to the everlasting mother of all mistakes.

500 years later...

Why This Weblog

2005-12-05T20:08:00.000-08:00

Besides the fact that I am a writing and journaling nut, I thought this would be a great way to expose my work to a greater body of readers. I love sharing my work, and I love the feedback it generates. It's as simple as that really. I thought a journal where readers could chime in with their comments, for better or worse (though I hope that those who don't appreciate my work will critique and not criticize), would be fun.

For the most part, the weblog will contain updates on fiction that I am writing and/or readying for release, older fiction for readers to enjoy/comment on, and free fiction-sample downloads of released work. So I hope you enjoy the journal as well as the work.

Made in DNA